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Firefly - Penguins and Apple Strudel on passage to St Helena



All is well on board Firefly. On leaving Luderitz we had a 2 hour period of light winds and fog but this quickly cleared. The winds picked up and for 48 hours we had a fresh Southerly with quite rough seas. This wind and seas have both moderated and the wind has backed to the South East, hopefully these gentle Trade Winds should be with us all the way to St Helena.

The effect of the cold Benguela current has also diminished with the sea temperature going up from 10 deg C at the coast to 18 deg C some 300 miles offshore. The major impact is that the air temperature particularly at night has now warmed up significantly. It was surprisingly chilly at Luderitz and was home to more colonies of Cape Penguins - we have seen them all along the South African coast from Port Elizabeth onwards. As we sail back into the tropics we anticipate that the warm weather gear can be put away for a while!

For those who may have wondered about the trusty ship's parrot, Grateful, he is still on board, laid back and hanging (from the radar monitor).

We can also report that the Luderitz Apple Strudel improves with age - sadly we only have one more box left. So here's to apple pie, warm nights and trade wind sailing during January. Its 950 miles to St Helena and as we head to the north west we are converging with the World ARC yachts that did not make the stop in Namibia.

Paul Gareth and Peter




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